Funeral home seeks to add own crematory

Bolin-Dierkes must get board approval

Mar. 14, 2013

Written by

Brian Gadd

Staff Writer

ZANESVILLE — Bolin-Dierkes Funeral Home has proposed building a crematorium in the Putnam area to add to its list of funeral services, but a concern over mercury emissions has been raised.

Ty Dierkes said providing a full range of funeral services and an increase nationally in the number of caring cremations is behind the plan, which still must be approved by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The proposal will come before the zoning board at 5:30 p.m. today. Meetings are conducted in the second-floor city council chambers, 401 Market St.

The crematorium would be in a 3,200-square-foot pole building between Moxahala and Muskingum avenues, at 15 Madison St., that the funeral home is buying from a Thornville couple, Lawrence and Ann Rowe.

The property was bought in 1998 for $90,000 and previously was rented by Roofmasters. Dierkes said the property is under contract with sale contingent on receiving the proper zoning and permit approvals.

He said the property purchase, crematory equipment and exterior renovations would total about $300,000 in investment. The exterior renovations, including painting and landscaping, will conform with Putnam Historic District guidelines, he said.

Information obtained from the supplier of the crematorium equipment, Matthews International Cremation Division of Florida, showed the equipment operates without smoke or odor and that emissions follow all environmental regulations.

“The need is there, the number of cremations is increasing rapidly and we want to be able to offer our families this additional service, rather than rely on a third party. And that’s something people should feel good about because it’s added expense to go out of town for this service,” Dierkes said. “That’s what is driving this. We’re not trying to hide what we’re doing. We’re doing what we need to do, applying for the permits and trying to take care of people locally.”

According to the Cremation Association of North America, more than 34 percent of deaths resulted in cremation in 2007. That number is expected to rise to 45 percent by 2015 and 56 percent by 2025.

Dierkes said there are two crematoriums outside the city limits, E & J Crematory on Dresden Road and SRS Services on the West Pike, which are being used by local funeral homes, but several have “expressed their desire to come to us.”

“More are waiting until we get open,” he said.

He said the funeral home considered installing its own crematory on-site in the late 1980s but decided not to because of its location in a residential neighborhood on Blue Avenue.

Letters of support have been filed with the zoning board by Robert Burrell, of Burrell Funeral Services in Zanesville; Bryan Chandler, of Chandler Funeral Home in Caldwell; and Matthew Miller, of the Miller Funeral Home in Coshocton.

Miller said his funeral home handles 30 to 40 cremation requests per year, and those are conducted in Mount Vernon.

Chandler said he thinks the area would see an increase in tax revenue because the service would be open to not only local funeral homes but others in the region as well.

If the plan is approved, Dierkes said the crematory equipment would be installed and exterior improvements to the building completed by the end of June. The development also could create one or two jobs, he said.

The property is already zoned as industrial, but a conditional use permit is needed from the zoning board, City Zoning Administrator Pat Denbow said.

Matthews said 92 percent of crematoriums are at cemeteries or in funeral home settings, which are usually situated in residential or commercial settings.

For example, Dierkes said, there’s a crematorium in Akron situated next to a playground.

“If it’s bad for people or kids, why would they allow it there?” he asked.

Denbow said he had received one phone call, which he described as a secondhand concern from another resident in regard to possible mercury emissions from the proposed crematorium.

Denbow said he’s researched the issue, and the primary source of any mercury released by crematoriums is due to old dental fillings in teeth.

His findings include information that residential fireplaces, diesel trucks and fast-food restaurants emit more volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air than crematoriums.

“Undeniably, there will be some sort of mercury emission, but it will be below the EPA threshhold,” Denbow said. “Of course, we don’t want to upset the fellow next door, so (Bolin-Dierkes) will have to argue why they want it here.”

According to EPA data, crematoriums account for zero percent of total mercury emissions in the U.S., and all crematoriums in the U.S. in a given year account for less than 300 pounds of mercury. A fast-food restaurant can put hundreds of pounds of VOCs into the air per day.

Denbow added that he’s sure the zoning board members will be sympathetic to any concerns from residents and will take that into consideration before approving the conditional use permit.

“It’s always possible, since it’s not a group to rush to judgment, that if there’s any question they could table it,” he said.